


Training, Bargains, and Accords

by ilyena_sylph, Merfilly



Series: Changing Fate [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Jedi Training, M/M, jedi husbands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-05
Updated: 2016-04-05
Packaged: 2018-05-31 10:37:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6466981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilyena_sylph/pseuds/ilyena_sylph, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On Ilum, Anakin begins his training under Qui-Gon Jinn while Padmé makes good on her offer to aid Shmi on Tatooine. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan is approaching his new place in life with guidance from the Force.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Training, Bargains, and Accords

There was one thing Qui-Gon had not considered about their destination being the arctic planet of Ilum -- and that was Anakin's reaction to the frigid world. 

Anakin had been fortunate to be spared desert nights for the most part, not that Tatooine got as cold as some desert worlds, because of how much solar radiation it absorbed by day. This world was all cutting wind and biting cold, making his courage to face his future falter in the face of stinging pain where the air touched his face.

Headed from the landing pad to the temple, head ducked low against the wind, Qui-Gon felt Anakin's fear and pain, cursed himself for an idiot, and turned to snatch him up. He gathered him in against his chest face-first to protect him before he took off running instead of walking, slapping the door panel with a Force push from a couple of strides away. Inside, with Obi-Wan shutting the door, he let Anakin slip back down to his feet and crouched down next to him. "Are you alright, Ani?" 

"The air hurt," Ani said, once he'd gotten his breathing under control from his fear and pain. He ducked his head down in shame. "I'm sorry, Master. It's just weather, I know, but …. "

"You've never dealt with cold like this," Obi-Wan soothed when Anakin faltered in trying to apologize.

"Shh, Ani. You have nothing to apologize for," Qui-Gon added to his -- partner? yes, that would do well -- partner's words, looking solemnly at Anakin, waiting for him to meet his eyes again. "This is a mild day for Ilum, I failed to consider how horrible it would be for you, even in the gear we bought you on Naboo. _I_ am sorry. 

"There is much better cold-weather clothing kept here than what we have on," he added, "kept for every Jedi and Padawan who comes here. But first, let's go see to quarters for us, yes?"

"Yes, Master," Ani said, subdued but putting his failure in perspective. It was horrible out there, but Master Qui-Gon was not angry with him, and Obi-Wan was nodding encouragement at him. He could do this, no matter what. He had to; he didn't want to disappoint either of them, or Padmé. The idea of being apologized to… no, it had to be a politeness, because Masters never apologized. Except Qui-Gon didn't lie, either. 

Obi-Wan privately thought the boy had been amazingly resilient and loathe to complain through everything. That he had tried to apologize for a very human reaction… he was beginning to understand Qui-Gon's warnings that Ani did not have the same reference for any of his social interactions.

Qui-Gon nodded and rose, walking towards the section where the Jedi who tended the Temple and the Caves lived, and where those Jedi who visited were also housed, letting Ani come along behind him, sure that Obi-Wan would be right behind them. He could feel his partner's slow consideration, and nodded to himself, just a little, hidden by the layers and cowl. That could be only good. 

++++

Whispers of voices licked at the back of Ani's dreaming mind, until he suddenly came awake, refusing to listen to the battle cries and harsh anger that seemed to resonate in his dreams.

He knew he was supposed to focus on those, though, to see if they held clues or warnings. His sense of the conflict in his mind appeared to be that it had happened long ago, but there was a chance it was something ahead. 

He was awake now, and did not want to go back to the broken images of battles and Jedi falling around him, so he moved to the small computer to begin reading more Jedi history and lore concerning lightsabers.

Something had disturbed his sleep, Qui-Gon had known, but the Force presence was strong through Ilum, and he had almost gone back to sleep when he saw the flicker of light from the computer monitor against the wall. 

That meant either Ani or Obi-Wan were awake, and he rolled to his feet, pulled on enough clothing to be comfortable, and went out to see which of them it was, and if he could be of any help. 

It was Ani, and he moved across to join him, making certain that Ani knew he was coming. 

"Master Qui-Gon, I'm sorry if I woke you," Anakin said, turning from the lesson he had pulled up on the history of the lightsaber. "I did not want to go back to sleep, and I need to learn all of this." His eyebrows were creased in a little, showing that he was bothered. He was also failing to be centered in the Force, because of whatever had awakened him, Qui-Gon could feel.

"It is all right, Anakin," Qui-Gon answered, pulling a seat up to settle near him, facing him, looking away from the computer. "Would you care to tell me what disturbed your rest?" 

Anakin hesitated, but he knew he was supposed to be open with this man. "I think I was dreaming of this world, with Jedi being killed, except then the room looked different, and it was like I was actually in the middle of the Jedi dying." He looked down, then back up. "Like I was one of the attackers. But why would I be? The Jedi are protectors and helpers. Which is what I want to be."

Qui-Gon reached out, offering Anakin his hand, if it would be a comfort, but not close enough to make him take it if he didn't want to. What Anakin had dreamed of, though --

That had been an Age ago. "That war was a very, very long time ago, Ani," he told him softly, "but it did happen. And I think you may always be very sensitive to the places where the Force has been torn by the deaths of powerful users. 

"Many Jedi _were_ slain here. Why you may have seen part of the battle through Sith eyes, rather than Jedi, I cannot imagine. Though possibly it is only that they left a more powerful imprint to reach your mind. And I know that, Ani. I know very well how much you want to protect people, to aid them. It is high among the reasons I argued so strongly for you." 

Anakin did take the hand, after a moment's pause, before listening with all of his being to the words offered. He weighed them against his dreaming images, deciding that made more sense. "Is it normal to see things you do not know yet?" he finally asked, making a note to look at the history of this planet, so he wouldn't be caught off-guard the next time he slept.

He still didn't like feeling as if he had caused Jedi to die. The Jedi, becoming a Jedi, having been helped by two of them, all of it was so important to him.

Ani took his hand, and Qui-Gon left it to him when to decide that he was done accepting the comfort. He nodded at the question, however. "It is, Anakin -- for users of the Force, at least. The ability is called 'Force Vision', and many Jedi have it. At times, it will show you pieces of the past, at other times, some possibilities for the future. 

"Some are better at one than the other. Master Yoda often has visions. I have had them, but rarely. It is a difficult gift to bear, and the visions of the future are even more difficult to interpret. But we will work on it together, Ani, if it is one of your abilities."

Anakin nodded at that, then took a deep breath. "I have always had very vivid dreams. I'd tell them out loud, but Mother was so tired and busy, and none of the others ever really wanted to listen, so I stopped talking about them." He shrugged, drawing his hand back as he did it. "I want to learn everything!" he announced then, pushing past his unease, grounding himself back in his goals.

"I will always listen to your dreams, and you should, too. The Force guides us in many ways, that is one of them. 

"There is more to learn than a thousand years could teach us, Ani," Qui-Gon added, then, amused, finished with, "as Master Yoda is very fond of telling me." 

"Is he really as old as the Jedi Order? I heard a pilot on Naboo say that," Anakin said, taking the opening to make a lighter note to the night's conversation.

Qui-Gon blinked once, then laughed, shaking his head. "No... not nearly so old as that. But he _is_ approaching his nine-hundredth birthing day." 

"Wow." Anakin shook his head. "That's a very, very long time." He then gave Qui-Gon a smile. "I really am sorry I woke you. But I am glad you could help me understand better."

"Waking for a Padawan's troubles -- no matter how minor... and no vision, Ani, is minor -- is one of the many duties of a Jedi Master. And I am glad I could help, as well. Shall I stay with you a while?" 

Ani shook his head. "No, sir. I want to study as much as I can, to better understand where I am, as well as what I will need to do here," he answered. "I'll be quiet."

"All right," Qui-Gon agreed, and went to go back to his bed and continue to rest. 

Anakin worked on the history of the lightsaber for now, to get to a more rational point before he looked at Ilum's history. He knew kyber crystals were a preferred lightsaber crystal because of how easy it was to attune them to a person, but other crystals and even gems could be used. Ilum had a wide variety of crystals in various colors, and they were said to be the best to use in lightsabers. He would have to find a crystal that called to him and attune it, then construct his lightsaber. This was a task all younglings completed before graduating to padawan, if Anakin understood the lesson on the way Jedi progressed in their training correctly.

He wanted to do this part quickly, Yoda's accusation of 'too old' still ringing in his memory. He had to catch up, even if some youngling didn't become padawans until they were almost thirteen.

++++

Obi-Wan frowned for the millionth time, working through his research into the Sith, their history, known Sith Lords and Apprentices, and various Sith allied races. They had a tendency to recruit heavily among non-human species, which might have had a hand in why many of those races like the Hutts and the Toydarians had developed strong resistance to the so-called Jedi Mind Tricks. 

"Master, what is it about non-humans that cause them to align with the Dark Side so heavily?" Obi-Wan asked, falling back to the title out of habit, as he was questioning.

"Perhaps, my friend, you should question how they fall into positions so easily exploited by the Dark Side." Qui-Gon approved as Anakin stopped sketching his lightsaber design to pay attention as Obi-Wan turned to face Qui-Gon.

"I'm not certain I follow," the young Knight answered, unsure of himself now, for what he'd meant as a quick question. Obviously his Mas… his partner… saw this as a teaching opportunity, though, and Obi-Wan wanted more parameters for his reasoning.

"Consider, Obi-Wan, the structure of power, outside of the Order and our enemy. Then, perhaps, you will find your answer to elucidate for our young Padawan," Qui-Gon invited, leaving his help to that sole point of reference.

"The power structure of the Republic is made up of the Core worlds, and ripples out from there…" Obi-Wan began, analyzing what that might mean. He knew all about the Slice, the Expansion, the Rimward worlds. History of colonization patterns came to mind, and he thought he knew what his partner meant. "Humans. Humans continually rise to the upper echelons of Republic power, and have pushed some non-human species fully out toward the Rim. Life is more of a struggle without the constant intra-Core trade traffic, and that leads to lives that can be tempted toward supposed easy paths, or pressured into mostly fatal courses as there is nothing to lose," Obi-Wan reasoned.

Anakin had to nod at all of that; it fit what life on an Outer Rim world had taught him, after all.

Qui-Gon nodded his agreement with what Obi-Wan had said, even as he considered how pointed he should be in this teaching session -- it was, after all, a lesson that had taken well into his fifties for him to learn -- but he had a suspicion that Anakin already knew it too well. "All true," he replied, "but there is another factor, Obi-Wan. Anakin, what would you say is the strongest emotion the people of Tatooine feel about Core worlders?" 

Anakin considered that, knowing that too quick an answer was lazy work in Qui-Gon's eyes at this point. "It's anger, but it's the kind that comes from envy," he hazarded after considering all options. "But we… they… pretend that Core worlders are soft, unfit for survival, because we… they… have to prove strength to survive, and Core worlders have it easy."

Obi-Wan considered that, adding it to his suppositions. "Haves and have nots. All too easily exploited by charismatic leaders."

"Yes. And resentment and envy -- especially if it is shared among many around you, or seems very justified -- are emotions that can pull one strongly towards the Dark Side of the Force," Qui-Gon agreed. 

"So the very system that the Jedi Order is sworn to uphold reinforces the Fall of people?" Anakin asked, just to see if he was understanding it. His innocence, as well as knowing Ani had come from that situation, combined to kick Obi-Wan in the guts against his almost instinctive wish to deny such a claim, and he mentally staggered as the words challenged his idea of the Order.

"The Jedi Order serves the better of all," he managed to get out, but it was almost a pleading voice, and his eyes locked on his former master for reassurance that Ani had merely oversimplified the concepts.

For a few moments, in the immediate aftermath of Anakin's innocent, openly confused question, Qui-Gon had stopped breathing from his own shock, as well as the feeling of Obi-Wan's matching dismay. His former student, his partner, looked to him, his voice almost cracking in its plea for him to reassure him and Anakin alike, to tell the boy (tell them both) that Anakin had not found a truth. 

He opened his mouth, meaning to do just that -- the Jedi Order _could not_ be deliberately shoring up a slide into darkness for so many -- and he could not make himself do so, no matter how much he wanted to believe it was not so. 

Was this... this simple question, and its world-shaking consequences... part of Anakin's purpose as the Chosen One, already showing Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan where they were erring? Was the balance he was supposed to bring not to come with a defeat of the Sith, but a shaking of the Jedi Order until they served the Light side of the Force better and more truly? 

"Ani," he managed, softly, his attention spread between the pair, "the Jedi attempt to bring peace and harmony to all, Obi-Wan is right in that. And for a thousand generations it has seemed that the Republic, with its goals of democracy and peace, has been the right way to do so... but the Council sees from the Core, not the Rim, and that -- that may blind us all. 

"The Jedi would not _intend_ to aid the Dark Side in any way. We try, in our work, to improve the quality of life for all." 

The shaky breath from Obi-Wan told the Master that his partner was taking that answer to heart and holding onto it as a link to sanity and his reality. Obi-Wan was very much a child of the Order, despite over a dozen years of being exposed to galactic harsh truths. 

"Do they still know that is what they are supposed to do?" Anakin pressed, having gotten a very damaged view of the High Council in their interrogation of him, not interview, for none of them had even tried to understand him as they cut at all of his beliefs and experiences. "It's like water taxers on Tatooine. They're supposed to make sure the water's not poison, but they rely on their network of people, and poison water gets in the supply because sometimes the taxers don't pay enough attention."

"...I'm not certain, Ani," Qui-Gon answered softly, thinking about the Council and the Senate, about so many things he had seen where if he had not been a representative of the Order and the Republic he would have acted differently, "but if they don't, we're going to have to remind them." 

Obi-Wan kept silent, but he would not want to be a Master or Knight that had lost the way who got in Qui-Gon Jinn's path from here on. He still felt a little shocky over the whole conversation, brief as it was, because it made him question his entire existence. Meditation this evening would be very needful.

"Good." Anakin turned back to working out his plan for his lightsaber, the matter finished for now, so far as he was concerned.

Trust a child, Qui-Gon thought to himself, smiling at Anakin's concentration on the lightsaber again, to upend the entire world and not know it. But Ani had had the right of things, no matter how difficult it had been to hear, let alone to face. 

He got up after a short time, and moved over to rest his hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder, hoping that his older student was all right. Obi-Wan reached up to cover the hand, even as he turned his gaze up, managing a small smile. Through their old bond, he even managed to convey a sense of settling, as he squeezed his Master's hand.

Qui-Gon nodded, feeling that Obi-Wan was steadying out, and released his shoulder again to go and get a drink for each of them. Water, only, but he thought they could both use it.

++++

Tatooine wasn't the planet Kané Alaika would have expected to ever visit. Really, it wouldn't have made the top ten of planets, given how little it had going for it. She had been born and raised on Naboo, had enlisted in the security forces as soon as she could, and had mostly intended to spend her life there -- maybe leave as one of the pilots escorting the Senator (or even the Queen), now and then, but she'd never wanted to travel the galaxy. 

Which made that she was striding through Mos Espa, following somewhat hazy instructions given by the Queen to the Commander, trying to find a junk shop run by a Toydarian male in order to buy a woman's freedom. As though **that** thought wasn't nauseating and obscenely barbaric! 

But they couldn't steal her away -- the detonator somewhere in her body would kill her first, the Commander had said -- so they simply had to buy her. That, too, was a reason why she was the one walking these streets (if you could call this packed sand a 'street', at least). The Commander had thought that Miss Skywalker would be frightened of one of the men suddenly appearing and offering to buy her. Not that she wouldn't also be frightened of a woman, but hopefully it would be a little less, and Kané would be able to reassure her quickly. 

There seemed to be a small shop front with junk spilling out of it up ahead, with a large lot behind that might hold a true salvage yard, matching the description she'd been given. Somewhere else in the galaxy, the little boy that had saved all of the pilots, the planet itself, was learning the lessons of the Jedi, and it was up to Kané to do this small thing to honor that boy. Her eyes made out the buzz of a Toydarian, possibly, just inside the shop, hovering human-high.

She nodded to herself, set her jaw, and kept going in the desert heat until she could step into the shade of the shop. She looked around, but saw no sign of the adult woman she was looking for, only the Toydarian. The second-hand datapad with the inventory and holos of what she had to trade was a comforting weight in her pocket, no matter how much she hated this. 

"Would you be Watto?" she asked, trying for polite. 

"Whazzit to ya?" the Toydarian demanded, sizing up the human female quickly. "You have a need of things? Watto has everything!"

"I have everything I need... but I think I have something you will want," Kané replied, slowly taking the datapad from her pocket and bringing up a small holo of one of the scavenged droids -- one of the smaller ones, and without the weapons (not that they wouldn't soon be replaced) but in mint condition. "This year's Trade Federation model B-1. Interested?" 

Watto's eyes narrowed. "Maybe I'm not buying now, huh? I have plenty!" He'd barely dug out of his debts from the Boonta Eve Races. Did he dare gamble on whatever this human was swindling him for? "It is only a droid."

"Maybe you're not," Kané replied, not so bad at haggling to think that was actually a rejection. "And it is only a droid. But aren't you at all interested in what I want in return?" 

"Bah, you are merely toying with me here, trying to spy what I have! Watto has all that any could want, but no one walks in speaking of offers before playing at what they want," Watto told her, suspicion in every irritated flap of the wings. "You are a spy from some other merchant, trying to ruin my business now that I am doing well again!"

The accusations were part paranoia and part because the woman was not bargaining in the normal manner. What items of large value did Watto have that an off-world human could want?

"I am not a spy, and I do not care what is in your shop, or about you, merchant," Kané replied, looking at him calmly. "I am here because Anakin Skywalker saved my life. For that, I want to free his mother." 

"Ani?" There was almost fondness in the word, as Watto adjust his height of hovering to be at eye level. "That Jedi, he took my boy from me! Terrible thing, to tear the boy from all he had ever known." Watto tipped his head to one side. "But Shmi, Shmi is a comfort to me, my last friend to hold on to," he said shrewdly.

Kané made a darkly disdainful noise and looked steadily back at the Toydarian merchant, though she certainly did understand the fondness for Anakin, and thought it might not be feigned. "I'm sure she is. But I think you are a smart being, merchant, and that you could do very well for yourself in this. 

"Or you can comfort yourself in taking ridiculous advantage of an offworlder, because quite frankly, I don't care how many of those it takes me to gain her freedom." 

"Ehh?" The idea of having enough of those to fix and outfit to sell to one of the Hutts, or maybe to reformat and leave ready for the Bounty Hunters that liked to employ assassin droids… "How many can you bring to the table, and I will consider asking my Shmi if she is willing to leave what she has known these last eight, nine years," Watto said, greed overcoming his one social tie he kept, despite everything. Business was better than sentiment, he knew.

"Six," Kané answered, holding three in reserve -- even though she was certain that six fully functional droids, only needing minor repairs and reprogramming, were more than enough to buy one woman's freedom on this planet. "They are in my ship's cargo bay, waiting." 

"Six, you say." That would be a heavy investment except it wasn't, as all it would cost him would be the woman. "Come with me, and we will go get Shmi, then go to your ship. Maybe they are not worth what you think they are; I should see them for myself."

Kané wanted to argue with that, but it made sense, and she could get one of the others to bring out six of them easily enough. She nodded, adding an "Alright, that sounds reasonable." 

Watto led the way, going to where Shmi worked in a smaller space on her commissions, taken in his name. The woman looked almost too old to be Ani's mother, yet she had a grace and dignity that said much of the perception of age was merely the harshness of life pressing its mark on her.

"Shmi, come. The offworlder is to show me merchandise, and I require you to be there," Watto said, not yet raising the concept of freedom. In that, he was being merciful, not dangling the idea without being certain of his deal.

"Of course, Watto," she said with calm that was reminiscent of the civil servants in the palace and their practiced serenity.

But this serenity, Kané knew, was because she had no choice, not because she was happy with her role. She smiled at Anakin's mother, hoping it would be reassuring, and then turned to lead the way back to the hanger where the ship rested, wincing at the gusts of wind that threw harsh sand up into her face and eyes. 

"Here, take this," Shmi offered, unwinding one of the fine-weave scarves she had around her neck and handing it over as the gusts were growing. The woman showed how to adjust one to protect the face, all without being officious or condescending.

"Bah, humans." Watto did tip his head some, but the buzz of his wings kept the air currents from bothering his face as much. "Weak creatures for all the places you invade!"

"Thank you, Shmi," Kané replied once the scarf was wrapped around her face, and meaning it, before she glanced at Watto and had to chuckle for a moment. "You may have a point, there, merchant, but then, I prefer space to any planet." 

"Too cold!" Watto declared. "These droids, they have no tracers, and are functional, yes?" he demanded.

Shmi kept her face smooth. Droids, plural, of a variety that was important enough to leave the shop for? Watto did not have the credit resources for an outright purchase, and if this woman was a smuggler, she was not any of the ones Shmi knew could work here with Hutt permission. She worried that Watto was overreaching himself again, and what that could mean for their future. While she had never wanted to be a slave, Watto was far less cruel than many others in Mos Espa.

"Yes and yes," Kané agreed. They had checked for tracers and knew that they were functional -- they had only been damaged by falling over when the Gungans gathered them up to remove them from the plains. "Or if there are tracers, I did not find them in several scans."

"Good, good." Watto was already contemplating the best people to handle a sale like this. Going to the Hutts directly… might lead to too low a price. "Show them to me, and we will consider your fee."

Shmi kept her silence, but there was a feeling around her, one that everything was changing again. It caused her some fear, as she was not truly a high-priced commodity, being neither attractive to most nor skilled in ways that made up for that. Other species did what she did more adeptly. If Watto gambled poorly, this could go very poorly for her.

"The ship is there," Kané replied, pointing to the hangar rising up in front of them, wishing that she could reassure Ani's mother, but not certain of how. She opened the door and stepped in, and called out to Lio, the one of their pilots currently out of the ship. "Hey, Lio, bring out those six droids, won't you?" 

Lio blinked once, stared at the woman beside Kané for a moment, then called back, "Oh, sure, make me do all the work, why don't you?" even as he headed to open the hold. They had more than that, but who showed all their cards at once? Was that really Ani's mother? Well, Kané wouldn't be wrong. 

Watto stared at the ship, thinking there had to be more to this all than simple generosity for a boy's actions. Ani was remarkable for a human, but only that after all. Shmi stood, having pulled her data pad out to record any transactions that came of this, her face utterly calm.

Lio managed to get the cargo rack with six requested droids out for inspection, ignoring the way the Toydarian inspected the rack as well as each of the droids, making small noises and muttering in Huttese.

Now that the merchant was distracted, Kané moved a little closer and said softly, "It's all right, ma'am. Your Ani is an amazing boy, and he loves you very much. Everything's going to be okay." 

There was the briefest flare of her eyes to indicate Shmi had heard, but she kept her eyes on her master's flitting. Inwardly, she felt shock and hope, all in one, that the Jedi had saved not only her son, but arranged this.

"You think to swindle me, sell me these, then take more to my competitor, so I cannot get top price!" Watto accused suddenly. He stabbed a finger at the cargo rack. "Fresh grease and scrapings. I cannot take on the burden of six, when you will just give my competition the rest!

"Come, Shmi, we return to our shop, before those desert rats break something while they watch it for me! Too much time wasted!"

Well, _Sith-spit_! 

Kané left Shmi's side, stalking towards the Toydarian, holding her temper in both fists as she got nearly into his face. "Merchant, why would I do that? I have no interest in this planet, you, or anything but what I told you -- which doesn't make me stupid enough to offer everything at once. You have a good eye, but you are wrong. 

"Lio, get the others for him." 

The Toydarian gave a very mercenary smile. "You take from me my one last treasure; of course I make certain to get all I can, so I can be comfortable in my loneliness," Watto told her, before pulling his own data pad out. While Lio brought out the other droids to add to the rack, Watto keyed in the deactivation code for Shmi's chip. This was far too good an opportunity for him to pass up.

Shmi actually glanced down at Watto's words. It was true, since Ani had left with the Jedi, Watto had come by the hovel more frequently, or had her come work at the shop instead of the service area he normally had her in. But her son was among the stars, and these people were offering her that path as well!

Kané shook her head, glaring at the merchant. "It's not your comfort I care about," she pointed out, then asked, to hear it said aloud, "It's done, then? Shmi is a free woman?" 

"Yes yes! Take her!" Watto then called out to a pair of youngsters, hiring them to move the rack on the spot. He did not say farewell to Shmi.

"Watto, please be careful with yourself," Shmi said to him and the Toydarian looked at her gently, just a moment, before hustling things along to his shop.

How Miss Skywalker could have so much care for a being that had treated her as _property_ , Kané had no idea, but it... seemed very like Ani, at the same time. Once the flitting menace was gone, she turned to Shmi and cast her another, much more open smile, extending a hand. "Now that he's gone, I'm very pleased to meet you, ma'am, and I'm sorry if this all frightened you. I'm Kané Alaika, Lieutenant of the Naboo Security Forces." 

"I'm Lio Bashé," the young man said, letting his entire demeanor change to reverent for this woman. "You have things, yes? I'd be honored to carry them for you."

Shmi couldn't help but be slightly puzzled at both of them, before she unwound another scarf, this one from her waist. "You will need to cover your face as well; the winds are going to get worse, and it is a bit of a walk to my place. I have little, but what I have, has meaning to me." She was taking the offer at face value, just as she had spoken so openly to the Jedi.

"Um, how?" Lio asked, cocking his head at her as he came over, willing to be instructed, "and of course, ma'am." 

"Miss Skywalker," Kané said, recalling herself (and a few of the merchant's words) "maybe we're getting too far ahead of ourselves? I mean, we all want you to come with us, for Ani's sake, but... it's _your_ decision, not ours, now that you're free. Do you want to leave?" 

"Oh, I didn't think; sorry, ma'am," Lio said, even as Shmi rewrapped her own scarf to demonstrate. She looked at the Lieutenant evenly once the young man was protected from the stinging sand that could scar lungs.

"Lieutenant Alaika, I took your presence and willingness to purchase me as the invitation to leave. I have no means to support myself here, for Watto is unlikely to wish to pay me wages to do as I have done for years." Shmi spoke clearly and without getting too emotional over it. That would come later, in privacy. 

Kané nodded -- there was some rebuke in that, and she was a little chastened -- but she'd had to ask! "Okay, then. Let's go get your things, and we'll go ahead and get off this planet." 

"I am extremely grateful for this opportunity, if a bit overwhelmed, and apologize for my tone," Shmi added, bowing her head. "It was always enough for me that my son reached his true destiny."

"Your son is an amazing kid," Lio assured her, walking on one side of her. "He's a bright one too!"

"It's nothing, ma'am. I can't even imagine how I'd be reacting, to something like this," Kané replied, then glanced at Lio and grinned. "Isn't he just?" she agreed, and lifted her eyes to flash a smile at Miss Skywalker. "But that's also kind of a long story, Lio, so let's get everything and get shipboard before we tell it?" 

"Yes ma'am," Lio said, grinning. Shmi was very curious, but she would learn in time what had happened with her son. It did not take them long to arrive at the hovel, nor did she take long to pack everything. She did hesitate, looking at the protocol droid, and then back at the pair of pilots.

"He's not much, but Anakin made C-3PO for me, and is very well-versed in protocol. He could be useful," she said, making a case for why the droid should be allowed to come with them. Otherwise, Watto would find him a use, or sell him, when he came to clear out the hovel for the next slave he owned.

"Ani built -- wow," Lio exclaimed, and grinned at her as he did start to move to gather up what she'd packed. "Well then, he definitely ought to come along. Can't leave a gift for you behind, ma'am." 

Kané had been trying not to look around too much, since seeing the conditions that smart, wonderful, brave boy had grown up in just had her wanting to harm the Toydarian again. Or possibly most of the rest of this _planet_. Not that there wasn't poverty on Naboo, there was, she knew that, but there wasn't slavery.

"Thank you, again." She walked over to flip the power switch; it was best to leave Threepio turned off if she was not home and not taking him with her to work, as he tried, sometimes, to be helpful at home. That had led to a small kitchen fire once.

"Hello, I am … Ahh, Mistress Shmi. Ah! Guests!" The unfinished droid looked at the pair and began to speak, but Shmi interrupted him.

"Carry this," she said, indicating the trunk that held most of her keepsakes of Anakin's earliest years. She then hastened to get her personal effects together. 

"Of course, Mistress." He bent awkwardly and managed to get his fingers to fold around the handles before lifting it up. Shmi pointed out a few other items she wanted, and Lio found carisaks -- worn and much mended -- to start putting those away. In the end, it was the trunk and one small bag for each human to carry back to the ship.

Kané shouldered the bag willingly, and headed them back towards their ship, bringing up the rear of the little band (she hadn't expected to add a droid, but of course they were bringing him along) to make certain they all got back safely. This wind was _horrific_ , the grit in it more than a little painful, but at least they both had the scarves over their faces. Those were an incredible help. 

The droid froze as they stepped inside the hangar, making an obviously uncertain noise, the wide, luminous eyes turning towards Miss Skywalker as he said, "Mistress?! But -- " 

Shmi reached out and laid a hand on Threepio, much as they had seen Anakin touch Artoo many times. "It's alright, Threepio. Watto has sold me to them. He would not lie about the chip." 

"Not if he likes living," Lio said, low under his breath, because if anything, anything at all, happened to Shmi Skywalker, the pilots were going to destroy Watto the Toydarian.

Kané had heard it, and she flashed a sharply agreeing smile at Lio. She wouldn't harm the buzzing little being simply for existing but if harm came to Ani's mother, it would be an entirely different story. She was startled to see the droid's head come around, his eyes seeming almost to narrow as his gaze swept over them. 

"Oh. Well, then. I suppose I should offer to be of service as well then, Mistress?" the droid's frame looked as if he wanted to interpose himself between Miss Skywalker and them. She couldn't remember ever encountering a droid with so much... personality? 

"Only to her," Kané answered, shaking her head a little. "Your mistress is a free woman now." 

Shmi's eyes came up at that, as it really started to sink in that she had not been bought. "Threepio, let us get settled aboard their vessel, and then perhaps you can recharge more, during our flight. I have much to learn of where we are to go, so I can determine how we shall exist once there," Shmi said quietly. She did not mind the droid's company, but he would distract her from thinking with his endless discussion.

Lio looked at the droid, and measured how overwhelmed the woman likely already was, deciding to keep his offer of a good cleaning behind his teeth for now. There would be time for that at the Palace. Their Queen was certain to offer the woman a generous place in her life; this was the mother of their war hero!

"Yes Mistress. Of course!" the droid started back towards the ship, though his head almost immediately turned nervously. "Is... is it really quite safe? They always look so ... fragile." 

"It will be fine, Threepio," Shmi assured him, and guided him. Lio quickly took them to a cabin, assuring her she was safe and welcome to take all the time she needed to grow accustomed to being away from her previous life.

He didn't give back the scarf, though he felt a touch guilty, but it was _hers_ and that meant it might even be lucky!

+++++

Shmi was uncertain even still, but the change in the feel of the ship told her the pilot had them in hyperspace. It had been so long since her journey to Tatooine yet that was hard to forget. She had cleaned up, being as sparing of water as she would on Tatooine, but making herself properly presentable. Now, with her cleanest clothing on, she walked out of the cabin to go find the others and learn of her son.

Kané had left Lio to do the piloting, returning to her own cabin -- leaving the door open -- to get the sand out of her hair and off her face. She heard careful steps on the decking outside, and hastily finished gathering her hair back into a tail before she stepped out, smiling at Miss Skywalker quickly. "The one lounge this has is this way," she said, tipping her head that direction, "since I think you'd rather sit down?" 

Shmi gave a small smile for that courtesy. "I have not been aboard a ship in a long time, yes. Sitting would be easier." She moved in the direction indicated. "I do want to hear of my son, as I feared I never would know anything of him, as news of the Jedi rarely comes to the Outer Rim."

"Of course, ma'am!" Kané answered, flashing her a brighter smile as she went to get a glass of water for each of them and to sit down as well. "I didn't get to spend as much time with him as the Commander did, but he's very busy at home right now, so he sent Lio and me." 

She leaned to the comm pad and told Lio they were in the lounge. It wasn't a minute until he'd scrambled down to join them, smiling in delight at seeing Miss Skywalker, and dropped into a chair. "So now do we get to tell her about Ani?" 

"You start," Kané agreed, "you were closer to the start of things." 

"You mean I had to ride the shock wave out a little more," Lio said with a grin. At Kané's _look_ , he laughed. "You mean the real start, and yeah…" He shook his head, remembering that little bit of fate. "The Jedi and our Queen came back to Naboo, and they freed us, the pilots, so we could get up into space to deal with the invaders directly," Lio began. "I was headed for my ship, and there was this kid headed for it too, and I was very determined to have my baby, not one of the others, so I shooed him off."

At Miss Skywalker's look of complete bafflement, Kané sighed. "Right, this is why we don't let you start explaining things," she said, and shifted a little more towards her. "I don't know if much news of the troubles in the Republic gets to Tatooine, but I'd bet not much more than gets to Naboo -- that's where we're from -- does, anyway. 

"A couple of months ago, the Trade Federation and its droid ships came to blockade off Naboo from the rest of the Rim and the Core alike. We all thought that the Senate and our Queen combined would be able to end it -- but then... I guess they tried to kill the Jedi, but they escaped and made it to the Queen just ahead of the droids. 

"So she escaped with them, but... there were so many thousands of droids that we couldn't really resist them. ...until the Jedi and the Queen returned." 

Shmi shook her head. "The young lady that was with the Jedi, she was from your world?"

"One of the Handmaidens, no doubt," Lio agreed. "Where the Queen goes, the Handmaidens go as well," he told the woman. "And all of them are trained to protect her as well as serve as eyes and ears when she cannot be there."

"An interesting system, but I have heard of stranger," Shmi agreed. "Anakin was still with the Jedi then, the one called Qui-Gon Jinn?"

"Yes," Kané nodded. "We were all being held in camps -- probably for them to execute once they got around to it -- when Captain Panaka and a few of the officers who had escaped came into the camps to rescue the closest squad of us pilots.

"I'll admit, I thought the plan as he explained it was insane, but... our Queen thought it was the best course of action, so... what else can you do?" she shrugged a little. "Somehow, the Queen had convinced the Gungans -- they're another race that lives on Naboo, they're amphibious people, living in the swamps -- to help us. They were going to use their armies and weapons to engage the droids and distract the Federation, while we broke into the Palace hangar and got up into space to destroy the main control ship and take out all of the droids at once."

"And while the Queen got to those Federation scum," Lio cut in, before clicking his jaw shut again. 

"I think the Jedi and the handmaidens hated bringing Anakin with them into the capital, but it's not like he would have been any safer with the Gungans," Kané said, "or alone. I know the Jedi Master wanted him to hide somewhere safe as soon as we were inside -- Ani certainly repeated that part often enough..." 

She couldn't help laughing at the memory. 

Lio started laughing too, then looked at Shmi. "I'm sorry. I really am. When I shooed Anakin to the other ship, I never thought about the remote connect that lets us all launch on paths that keep us from impacting each other or the building ramparts," he began, to describe how they all launched. "I was more concerned with figuring out how I was going to get up into space and do the best to save my world. Commander Olié must not have realized that the boy with the Jedi had been told to hide and keep safe, which he would have been, up in the fighter… if it hadn't also launched."

Shmi had covered her heart, worried all over again for her son, to hear he'd gone into a dangerous situation to begin with. Now, she held both hands to her mouth, eyes wide, waiting to hear the rest.

Kané's mouth quirked a little, and she decided to tell this part more from Anakin's point of view. "Ani says that it's really lucky that the R2 unit had gotten up into the fighter along with him, and that he really only intended to get the shields up so that he would be safe, like the Jedi had told him to stay... but igniting those must have engaged the autopilot. It took the R2 unit most of the way up to the control ship to disengage the autopilot, and then the fighter was all in his hands. 

"He didn't exactly say -- at least to us -- how it was that he wound up getting all the way _inside_ the control ship, but he did mention having to avoid a couple of the droid fighters. But he **did** get inside, while all of the rest of us were still outside the shields trying and failing to bring the control ship down... and from in there, he did exactly what the entire planet so badly needed us to succeed at. 

"He fired a couple of proton torpedoes and took out the reactor core. ...we'd almost given up any hope of getting through those shields, ma'am. We were going to fail our Queen, our planet, and our people -- not just our people, but the Gungans, too -- when all of a sudden, the ship just... started detonating from the inside, and one of our fighters came streaking out ahead of the blast." 

Shmi shook her head. "Oh Ani." she could not believe it yet that was very much her son. He truly was destined for greater things. 

"We were asked not to make it public," Lio said. "Couldn't give him the honors he deserved. So we asked our Queen how we could show him how much it meant."

Shmi shook her head again, stunned. "I... Ani truly did all that?" That the answer had been this; she still could not believe it. 

"He did," Kané told her, her mouth quirking. "We didn't have any idea which one of us it was in that fighter, not until we got down on the ground -- and then it wasn't one of us at all, it was Ani, and he was so desperate to make us all believe that he hadn't meant to!

"Well, us or the Jedi, or both," she amended, shaking her head a little in amusement. 

"Because he'd been told to do something, and had… done quite a bit differently," Shmi reasoned, amused by that, and able to almost hear her son's protests of good behavior.

"He's left with the Jedi now," Lio said. "But he knew before he left what we meant to do, ma'am. To come for you, invite you to Naboo, and help you make a new life there with us. It meant much to him, we were told."

Shmi had no doubt of that, though she thought, hidden behind the calm she was so used to projecting, that Anakin had likely been as wary of the gift as he was pleased by it. This kind of generosity... she couldn't remember the last time she had seen such a thing. Perhaps when she was a very little girl? "I had not expected to ever see, or even have news, of him for many years, so this is no different," she replied, soft, "and is amazing, besides. I mean, the droids have to have -- " 

Kané laughed, shaking her head. "Ma'am, we gathered the droids up out of the piles of thousands on thousands of them that stopped when Ani destroyed that ship. Even if the Trade Federation manages to escape from having tried to murder two Jedi and take over a Republic world, how are they ever going to know that those nine weren't destroyed in the battle?

"It cost too many lives to have them there, but not much in credits." 

That helped, some, with the weight of what had been paid for her freedom, but Shmi would do all she could to prove to her new benefactors that she could, and would, pull her own weight. It just meant finding out what their world was like, and finding a trade she could perform.

And her son was free, out there, learning to be a Jedi. He would be a great man, as she'd always known.

"I am thankful, for the generosity of your people," she said softly.

"It really does mean much to us, to help you, Miss Skywalker," Lio told her. "Ani saved us all."

Kané nodded her agreement, full and complete, and smiled at the other woman quickly. "Which Handmaiden was it that you met, did she say her name?" 

Shmi nodded. "Padmé. Ani was so taken with her, had to show off Threepio and try his best to be even better behaved so that she might like him," the woman said with a fond smile for her son's antics toward the 'angel' he'd met.

She could just imagine Ani taken with one of the Handmaidens and trying so hard to be good. Kané smiled at the thought, quick and affectionate. She did like the boy. "Is there anything else we can tell you right now, ma'am, or would you rather rest, or have something to eat?"

"Is the food prepacked, or is there a galley that I might be able to make a meal for us in?" Shmi countered, wishing to be useful. "As to the rest, would there be any data pads about your world, so I can better understand how to live there?"

Kané looked at Lio, who looked thunderstruck at the idea of Miss Skywalker cooking for them -- frankly, she wasn't much better -- but then she thought about how soothing cooking tended to be for her, when she had the time. It was probably that way for Miss Skywalker, too. "There's a galley," she agreed, "not that there's much, and part of it is prepacked, but I'd be glad to show you. And I'm pretty sure Lio can load the main entries off onto a pad for you while we're in the galley..." 

"Of course, ma'am!" Lio bounced up to his feet and was off again, and she shook her head at his retreating back before finishing off her glass and getting back up to show Miss Skywalker to the galley. 

++++

There were aliens, so many aliens, so few humans. There was a crowd all around consoles and devices that were not immediately familiar. Voices were raised in anger, in dismay. Among them there was the particular cadence and accent of a Neimodian. There was violence brewing, treason being discussed.

He looked down, sweeping his cape back just enough to be certain of the hilt of his lightsaber, the distinctive curved hilt a comfort to see. He stepped into that room with the violence brewing. The voices grew even louder, angrier, not even all in Basic, all directed at him -- 

\-- Qui-Gon woke with a start, a sheen of sweat over his skin, his heart beating entirely too quickly as he tried to comprehend what he had just… dreamed? Seen? 

After a few moments of trying to breathe steadily, he gave it up for a momentarily lost cause and rolled out of the bed to walk the main room of the quarters as he thought. As his door opened, Obi-Wan was right there, obviously in the midst of trying to make the door open. 

The young Knight's gaze, full of worry and concern, shot up to his Master's face, and his hand that had been going for the controls moved instead to Qui-Gon's arm gently.

"Master?" he asked. "I felt a disturbance."

Qui-Gon allowed himself to shift into that touch, looking down into his partner's eyes with a faint, wry twist of his mouth. "...yes," he agreed quietly, after a few moments, "that doesn't surprise me. Let's hope I didn't wake Ani as well.

"I was going to pace, but I think I prefer your company. Come in, my friend." 

"Anakin is still asleep, but then, he was very tired," Obi-Wan said, slipping inside the room with Qui-Gon. There were all the signs of the 'disturbance', from the scent of a bad sweat to the faint splash of the Force still being out of focus in the space around Qui-Gon. "I did check him first," he said, even though he had _known_ it was his Master from the moment his eyes came open. Duty, nothing else, had made him check the child's room in passing, before going to the real cause.

Qui-Gon smiled pleasure at his partner, turning on the smallest of the lamps with a touch before he slid the door shut again. "Thank you," he told him softly, glad to know that he hadn't disturbed Ani as well as Obi-Wan. 

He padded back to the bed and settled down sideways in the center of it, his back to the wall of the room as he breathed, and turned a hand palm-up on his knee to invite Obi-Wan to join him. 

What in the name of the Living Force had that even _been_? 

Obi-Wan took the invitation, sitting near enough to be reachable if that was desired, but not touching, not yet, as Qui-Gon looked like he might try to center. "May I offer you a sounding board, Qui-Gon, to work through the event that disturbed your sleep?" he offered, as he settled into a meditative pose.

Qui-Gon nodded after a moment, matching his breathing to Obi-Wan's as he again worked to steady himself. Calm was not coming easily, however, and he turned his thoughts instead to attempting to understand what he had seen, to bring it to sharp focus -- 

\-- and the first detail that snapped into his conscious mind set his blood running cool. The curved hilt, silver and black, balanced for a Makashi duelist, was as well known to him as his own, and --

His Master had not taken a mission for the Jedi Council in twelve years, and Qui-Gon had not often seen him in the years before that. Master Dooku had barely been seen by anyone in any of those years, but now he was in the field again? There were few better diplomats in the Order, but how had anyone persuaded him to return? 

And was he all right, despite the threat around him? Was he well? There had been such danger in the air, such anger... and why, a quarter of a century after they had dissolved their Master/Padawan bond and taken on their separate works (parted with a disagreement as a chasm between them) had he seen his old Master's circumstances now? It was not that they had not seen each other; they had, but it had been as colleagues and friends, yet with that disagreement still between them. 

"It was my Master," Qui-Gon finally spoke aloud, shaking his head slightly. 

"Your Master?" Intellectually, Obi-Wan knew his partner had gone through all the same steps as any Jedi, but sometimes it seemed that Qui-Gon had to have been as he was for all time. "He has been living in seclusion, has he not? I've never seen him, and you don't mention him."

That also felt wrong. But then, Obi-Wan, new Knight of the Order, was having a drastic time even contemplating striking out fully on his own, when …. 

His own Force ripples were a little muddied as he stepped back away from the fact he could not even fully clarify in his soul why he could not leave Qui-Gon yet.

"He has," Qui-Gon agreed, though his mouth quirked up a little at the startled look on Obi-Wan's face. Had his no-longer-Padawan somehow classed him with Master Yoda, as one that had been a Jedi so long that who had trained him made no difference? "Since the disaster that occurred on Galidraan.

"And no... I suppose I do not. What could have _possibly_ convinced him to return to the field after all this time?" 

His young friend slowly shook his head. "I know you need to remain with Anakin, and that you want him to have time to catch up to where a youngling would be in training before you go to Coruscant, and we are trying to be certain the Sith have lost sight of us," he began. "But if you wished, I would make a careful trip there, to see what news the Council has."

He didn't want to be gone, but for a dream, or a Vision, to wake his Master, Obi-Wan felt he had to offer.

Qui-Gon shook his head, reaching to lay his hand on Obi-Wan's knee lightly. "No, my friend. I can use the holo relays to reach Master Yoda, if I simply must know. 

"It was as though I were seeing through his eyes, hearing through his ears for a moment... so many alien tongues, more than I would have expected, and one had the cadence of Neimoidia. Angry and dangerous, and plotting something, I don't know what, before he went in to talk to them..."

"A den of danger." Obi-Wan rested his hand on Qui-Gon's in reassurance. "Yet, certainly, if something has called him forward to negotiate, he will have adequate back-up. Such a serious situation would be met with due consideration," he reasoned, wishing to reassure the elder Jedi. "Perhaps your Vision of his situation was merely to prepare you for whatever steps must come next."

"Our own recent 'serious situation' leaves me slightly uncertain that he would have such," Qui-Gon replied quietly, even as he wrapped his fingers up through Obi-Wan's. "Though, we did rather well, really.

"You may have the right of it there, though, old friend, that it may be only a warning. So strange. You having the vision of what was not, Ani a vision of the distant past here on Ilum, and now me... with an event of the moment that seems unreasonable..." 

Obi-Wan gave him a quick grin. "Well, Master Qui-Gon, Anakin represents a prophecy made an age ago. I have been accused by some," and he squeezed the hand in his, "of worrying too much for the possible paths. While you… well, the High Council has mentioned, once or twice, that you live more in the moment than might be prudent," he teased lightly.

Qui-Gon stared at him for a moment, and then laughed, nodding slightly, as some of the tension broke. "True, all true, old friend."

Obi-Wan smiled broadly, pleased to get this far with helping his Master. He did not pull his hand back, and he didn't make a move to rise from the bed, though, not wishing to abandon Qui-Gon if his presence was at all helpful.

"You truly should rest more," he pointed out, as the night was still deep, and Anakin was a very energetic boy.

"...you're probably right," Qui-Gon agreed, though that would mean rearranging upon the bed, and Obi-Wan's likely departure. 

The very fact that the thought displeased him should probably be reason to do exactly that -- and _that_ thought brought him up short, face to face with another of those uncomfortable truths. He had, years ago, realized that Obi-Wan Kenobi had found a place in his heart matched by very few in his life, and he, unlike many of his brethren upon the Council, had never entirely believed that denying such emotions was a right or honorable choice. 

While Obi-Wan had been under his care, it had been right to ignore both the attraction and the depth of his love for the boy, but Obi-Wan no longer was. The Council had spoken on that matter, and it had been Obi-Wan's decision to remain. There was still the other problem, of not being entirely certain that Obi-Wan would have any similar interest.

"We have a very... exuberant boy to teach in the morning, after all." 

"So we do," Obi-Wan said, reluctant to leave his Master's side, though. "I find that I would prefer to remain, Qui-Gon, if it would not bother you to have me here. I could meditate while you rest; save me the trouble of coming back if the Force is as blunt with you as you tend to be with it," he added.

He had never known Qui-Gon to leave him in the aftermath of a nightmare or hard Vision, and wanted to return that favor. That was… most of his reluctance to leave, he told himself. That his attachment to Qui-Gon Jinn ran so deep --

\--memories of nearly losing his Master to the Dark Side, because of a woman intruded. Other memories, when Qui-Gon had bluntly counseled him on the pitfalls of attachments, without forbidding it, followed. Obi-Wan had no wish to fall from the Order's rules, yet --

"I want to be near," he said firmly, as the fragments of understanding filtered a little more into place.

Qui-Gon tipped his head slightly, studying his friend's face, able to sense a shifting in Obi-Wan's expression and eyes, the feeling of his presence. "As though it _could_ bother me to have you near," he replied, soft. The thought that the Force might continue being blunt with him was not a terribly comforting one, but if Obi-Wan would be here, it would be easier. "And there is no reason for you not to also sleep, my friend. 

"Get the light?" he asked, more to give them both the moment to see to the room and actually settle into the bed. 

"Yes, Qui-Gon," Obi-Wan said, feeling an elation that seemed oddly placed. They had shared quarters and beds before. They had offered emotional havens to one another before. Why did this feel different? He took his time turning the light off, to give his thoughts time to settle.

His emotions were the issue. They had been, ever since the panic that Qui-Gon had instilled in him with the declaration that he would take a new Padawan. He came back to the moment, though, assisting in getting the bed straightened from Qui-Gon's earlier restlessness, before taking the side closer to the door.

"Protecting me, old friend?" Qui-Gon asked softly, affectionately, as he shifted up on his side to lay one hand lightly on Obi-Wan's side, feeling the warm, living strength under his fingers. 

"Only fair, Master, given how often you have protected me," Obi-Wan said, sliding his hand to rest on the elder man's where it touched him. "I am thankful that you allow it." 

Qui-Gon made a quiet noise, more simple acknowledgment than anything else, as he shifted his hand enough to wrap the tips of his fingers around the young Knight's. Obi-Wan might have a point there, as well, but it was the duty of a Master to protect their charge. "I think it should be my gratitude mentioned at the moment, old friend; thank you. Now, let us both rest against the dervish we will meet again in the morning, yes?" 

"Yes, Qui-Gon," Obi-Wan agreed, shifting only so much as it took to be certain Qui-Gon was comfortable, and that there was light contact between them, to better reinforce the bond's ability to guard them both from any further Force intrusions.

++++

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan stayed well back as Anakin began assembling the components into his lightsaber. Neither Master nor Knight had done more than discuss the merits of the crystals in their own designs with the boy, knowing how intimately important it was for Anakin to do this completely independent of them. 

Some Masters insisted the first saber be constructed exactly to an approved design. Qui-Gon had not done that with any younglings he had shepherded here, not on their first attempts. He would help with subsequent replacements, but the first was a special creation all together.

Anakin had studied numerous designs, and he'd braved the caves (and cold) to find the one that most called to him. He'd spent the time on focusing the Force, attuning the crystal to his wishes, and he'd machined some of the parts for the hilt himself, to further craft the best lightsaber he could.

Now, his small hands deftly pieced everything together, as Qui-Gon watched to be certain no step was skipped, or anything left to dangerous chance. When Anakin finally slipped the last retaining clamp free from the workbench and hefted the saber, he held his breath.

"Here it goes," he muttered under his breath, thumbing the switch on. The blade popped into existence with a bright green hue, brilliant in power and then it died off in a 'pffft' and a wisp of smoke. Anakin, who had started to beam in delight at his success, showed such dismay on his features that Obi-Wan had to reach deep for the fortitude not to react to it. The boy's face was crushed for a moment, then slid into frustrated anger that it had failed.

The whipsaw of delight to dismay to frustration was an almost physical thing, yanking at Qui-Gon's own equilibrium across the slowly building bond between them as Anakin reacted to the lightsaber shorting out. It had to be very damaging, to a boy very used to mechanical accomplishments, and Qui-Gon let those first waves of emotion, wild as they were, pass unremarked-on, before he asked, "Would you like any help figuring out what went wrong, Ani?" 

"It shouldn't have gone wrong," Anakin said in denial, before immediately moving to place it back on the workbench, reaching for the spanner to start disassembly. The anger muted into intent focus as Anakin tried to find out why it had failed. "Maybe, Master, because it should not have failed. Unless…" He hurried to get it fully open. "The focal gem, maybe…"

Obi-Wan was glad the boy could not see the smile that snuck out. It was good, though, to see that Anakin could turn immediately to analysis.

Qui-Gon moved over to join him, crouching beside the workbench to watch Anakin start disassembling the lightsaber casing, waiting to see what circuit or component had gone wrong in his padawan's careful assembly of this lightsaber.

"I thought I tested the focal gem for inclusions thoroughly, but that's the only thing I can think of," Anakin said, reaching to remove the shielding, then snatching his fingers back as the heat that had produced the smoke became clear on a physical level. Anakin's brow knit in concentration, and the component he wanted out of his way shook, vibrating madly, before it fell off to the side under his attempt to move it with the Force.

The effort at fine manipulation momentarily took his focus away, making Anakin pause before peering into the inner workings. Obi-Wan was privately amazed; fine manipulation took more time to master than tossing small items around.

"It's possible," Qui-Gon said softly, before the piece of shielding dropped away. "Very good, Ani, manipulation that fine is often difficult." He peered inside along with his apprentice. Discussing the dangers of allowing rage to control your thoughts could wait until after Anakin had used the focus it brought in order to investigate the problem. 

"It's a mess," Anakin decreed, as he saw a piece of the circuitry had melted and fused right under the focal gem. He frowned, aware he was correct on the cause at a base level, but not happy that such an elementary mistake had cost him his first lightsaber and made him fail in front of his Master and his friend.

"I don't remember getting my first one to ignite at all," Obi-Wan offered, remembering how he had accidentally aligned his focal gem in opposition to the crystal.

"It didn't, from what I heard," Qui-Gon agreed with Obi-Wan, his mouth quirking at Anakin's startled glance at him, "and I seem to recall that you had some impolite things to say to it, as well."

"Well, yes. I was so glad Master Yoda had asked someone else to be minding us that day," Obi-Wan said, still embarrassed that his future Master had heard that story before they'd ever met. But then, apparently youngling and first lightsaber stories were a common topic to discuss. "Master Windu was much more understanding of the language."

Anakin looked from Qui-Gon to Obi-Wan, and then down at his lightsaber. Maybe failure didn't have as severe a price now? 

"I won't be able to reuse most of these pieces, but I think the crystal is intact," Anakin offered hesitantly, anger fading even more, replaced by the confusion he normally displayed as he was trying to understand his new rules for survival. He used a small manipulator to extract the focal gem, having to break it from the circuitry that had melted. "I can still feel it," he added, since he hadn't actually opened the shielding far enough to extract the crystal yet.

"It is quite difficult to destroy a kyber crystal," Qui-Gon told him, studying the bent curve of Anakin's head, wondering what was troubling Ani, "so it is most likely intact, yes. And the pieces that you cannot reuse will be recycled by the Temple; we are rather accustomed to the refuse of first attempts, after all. 

"Quite," Obi-Wan remarked to that last, before moving on, to let them finish this project together. He'd been chasing a data lead on something of the Zabrak Iridonians in the mystery of the Sith.

Anakin quietly made a noise of disbelief, not even aware he'd done it, about the 'waste' of not doing it right the first time. "I saw the readings mentioned an expectation of failures, even catastrophic ones where the crystal was inserted in a negative alignment, but it didn't make sense, Master."

It was the noise, even more than the words, that warned Qui-Gon that they had come to the precipice of some great chasm that separated Anakin from himself and Obi-Wan. That chasm, he knew in the next moment, was the gulf between a former slave and someone who had always been free.

"What about it did not make sense to you, Ani?" he asked, settling onto the floor, legs folded in front of him, watching Anakin's eyes. 

Anakin wanted to look away, but he was supposed to be open and honest with his Master. "It is waste. Time and resources. Especially for a Master to have to deal with their Padawan being clumsy or wrong," he said. "If I had studied better, if I had tested each part more, I wouldn't be wasting materials and your time, Master Qui-Gon. To think that it is common to fail on the first time; that is a lot of waste."

Qui-Gon looked at him steadily for several long moments, thinking about that. From Anakin's point of view (and possibly even from an objective one as well), it was difficult to disagree with that assessment. And yet, it was a harsh judgement, more harsh than he believed warranted. "I do not think of this time as a waste, Ani. You did _very_ well in your construction of it, and now there is the chance to discuss what happened. 

"There are things to be learned from failures, and through them, Ani. Like the way you almost immediately controlled your anger and disappointment in order to figure out what went wrong. That was excellently done, and I am very pleased." He paused for a moment, making certain that Anakin had heard him, then went on.

"Some of our younglings, when they make their first attempt, have never had a serious failure, and it shakes their self-confidence, teaches them to be a little less certain of themselves before they put effort to something. Some of the others have been used to doing poorly, and thus, when they put their full effort to this task, they suddenly see what they _are_ capable of. 

"Both experiences are worth the tangible cost of some parts, in the assessment of the Order... and my own opinion." 

Anakin's forehead creased further, his features all twisting into deep thought. He tried to see and understand that but experience was not tangible, not something with a price on it. He had been swatted and worse, by Watto, for failures, and told emphatically that the cost of everything Anakin ever broke, wrecked, or even just failed to fix was far more than he would ever amount to.

"I was angry at myself," Anakin said instead of continuing to chase the cost of experience down. He would save that for meditation. "Because failure was not allowed. The only reason Watto ever coped with all my losses in the races, is that he made money anyway on his bets against me."

Qui-Gon experienced a sudden, sharp urge to return to Tatooine and 'swat' the Toydarian around a few dozen times. He pushed the impulse away (this was why he was almost never permitted to step foot on the worlds where slavery still held sway -- and what did that say about the Council, he allowed himself to wonder for the first time in years) and focused on that Anakin was free now and here with him. It wasn't that he had not already known that Watto bet against him, but to hear it like that...

"I am hardly going to _encourage_ you to fail, Ani, I want you to do well," he said quietly, "but many of the lessons of the Jedi Order are failed at many times before one successfully comprehends them. The only real failure, and the only one I will be upset over, is in learning nothing from it." 

Anakin nodded, hard and sharp, before looking back at his lightsaber. "I don't think I like failing. But I will try to remember to look for the lesson if I do," he agreed, before going back to work on the hilt, so he could get the crystal free. "I'll have to machine some new pieces to rebuild, and look over the focal gems for a good one. Why does no one ever use a second crystal instead of a gem? Or… no, that would create a positive feedback loop potentially, and that would be bad." Anakin flung himself back into design and planning; he would have the best lightsaber, and next time every single piece would be inspected ten times as much before he put it all together.

"Very good, Ani," Qui-Gon told him, rising from his cross-legged position, making certain that Anakin saw his hand moving as it came to rest on his shoulder and then squeeze, light and approving, before he let his padawan go back to his work without saying any more. 

Anakin took a moment to smile up at his Master, a flash of joy in his presence for the compliment and the contact, before becoming intently absorbed in his project.

++++

Obi-Wan was not sleeping. Sometimes it just happened, and he pushed out of bed to go find a spot that felt right for meditation. He didn't bother with his outer robe, just his leggings and tunic, before going to the common room.

Anakin was still at the workbench, having been intent on testing every piece of his new lightsaber before handling assembly. Only, the boy had fallen asleep with his head on his forearm. As Qui-Gon had stepped out earlier, Obi-Wan moved to go get the boy to his bed, shaking his head. Whatever worries the Council had, they would not be able to deny how dedicated the boy was to learning.

He bent down to pick up the boy, getting a sleepy sound out of him, and an instinctive reach for the crystal beside the work clamps. Obi-Wan held still, knees half bent, while Anakin recovered the crystal, half-smiling as the boy folded it in his hands, both of them, and curled in Obi-Wan's hold.

At least they had gotten to the point of this trusting, so that the Knight could get the Padawan to bed before their Master returned. Obi-Wan settled Ani on his bed, and tucked in all the blankets around the boy, before leaving him for his original intentions. A small bite to eat, a long drink, and then Obi-Wan settled on a mat in the center of the common room. He closed his eyes, and opened himself to the Force. His pull was more traditional, to the Cosmic Force, but on nights like this, he did try to hear the Living Force that drove his Master so.

Slow breathing, tuning out all other distractions… Obi-Wan had long ago mastered this part of meditations. The trick to success was in knowing what thread of life, the Force, or events to follow as impressions crowded in. This night, Obi-Wan did not try to direct them; he merely let everything sweep through him.

A little while after he had settled into the meditation, Qui-Gon Jinn stepped quietly back through the door and closed it. He had been able to sense the peace in the rooms before he opened it, and so had muted his own presence beforehand. He looked to the center of the room and there was Obi-Wan, centered and steady, his posture perfect even with the utter peace on his face. 

At this moment, though not for the first time, Qui-Gon was reminded that the young man was incredibly beautiful... and this time, there was no padawan's braid lying along his throat. Shaking his head slightly at himself, Qui-Gon slid his gaze from Obi-Wan's half-dressed body and pushed himself to go and check on Anakin for at least a moment. 

The boy was securely ensconced in his blankets, all but hidden from view, and the blankets had that careful tuck that spoke of Obi-Wan being nurturing again. When he turned back to the common room, Obi-Wan had not moved, but his presence had shifted some, being more aware. He did not speak, but his head moved just enough to let Qui-Gon know he had come up from the deeper meditation.

Qui-Gon nodded to him, not willing to break his concentration by speaking, and came to settle on the chair closest to where Obi-Wan was meditating to wait for him to finish... and if his eyes stayed on his old friend's body, well, Obi-Wan was certainly the most interesting thing in the room. 

Obi-Wan let the last few impressions settle where he needed them in his mind, to ponder at length later, and slowly pulled back from the Force in both its incarnations. One fed the other, and he'd almost glimpsed that but he'd felt a pull, despite his Master shielding.

"The boy wore himself out working on his 'saber," Obi-Wan said in a quiet voice as he came fully up. "I found him out here when I decided sleep was not what I needed this night." He shifted just a little from the meditative form to more on his knees, shifting that much closer to Qui-Gon as he did it. He felt invigorated, while also aware he'd come to something approaching peace with his choices, understanding them better.

With his thoughts having turned around the personal so much, he was hyper-aware of Qui-Gon, and watching carefully for the cues he needed to before he could commit to the next level. Were they partners on equal footing when it came to their wishes, or was the affection one of a different nature in his Master than what he felt?

"Sometimes," Qui-Gon agreed, "it is not. And I am not surprised by that he did. Thank you for putting him to bed, my Knight." 

The words were light, easy but the sheer depth of attention Obi-Wan had turned on him, the steady gaze and the touch of his presence... What decision had Obi-Wan made, while he was deep in his mediation this night? It was ridiculous for his nerves to be so on edge from nothing but the gaze of one of his closest friends, and yet... they were. They were, and Obi-Wan was... so very lovely. Lovely... and more important, beloved. 

"What are you thinking, old friend?" he finally asked, quiet. Obi-Wan smiled at him, with a touch of nervousness entering those eyes, but he would not shy from the course he'd chosen.

"I wish to learn, Qui-Gon, where we are to set our partnership now that I have graduated from your care," the young Knight said. "I know where my heart lies on the matter, but I do not wish to make presumptions, and wish more firmly to be certain of what you expect before I possibly harm the friendship we have shared for so long now."

It was the nervousness in his old friend's eyes that steadied Qui-Gon's own nerves, and he looked across the little distance separating them with a slow smile at Obi-Wan's expression. "And I thought that _I_ was the blunt one," he said, quietly amused -- and entirely relieved -- that Obi-Wan had been the one to speak first. 

But then, it had had to be Obi-Wan, for he never would have risked violating the trust placed in him as his Master. "I expect nothing, my dear one, but I have hoped for much." 

The amusement, and those words, steadied Obi-Wan while sending a surge of wild relief through him. He ducked his head briefly, considering the next step in this dance that he was not all that familiar with. Adolescent crushes and nearly falling for a fellow student aside, Obi-Wan was not experienced in how to manage what he recognized as both a spiritual and physical attachment to his former Master.

When he looked up, it was with a softer smile. "I am relieved to learn I was not foolish when I listened to my heart and asked the Living Force for guidance tonight," he admitted. "As for blunt… you have been at the center of my existence for some time now. I felt it best to be clear, so that I could not misstep."

"Not at all foolish, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon answered, watching Obi-Wan's duck of his head (how many thousand times had he seen that exact gesture at moments Obi-Wan was uncertain of his next step?) with a slow smile of his own. "Not at all. 

"And while I probably _should_ tell you that no person should be the center of any Jedi's world -- I am not such a hypocrite, or so much a liar, as that. You know me far better than that," he said with a slightly sharper smile. 

Obi-Wan gave a nod at the 'should' and reached out, resting a hand on Qui-Gon's knee. "I believe I was slow to understand what I was truly feeling, Qui-Gon, because of the conflict between Jedi teachings and those emotions. But I do not feel conflict now. Perhaps it is your influence on me, to question what should not be blindly followed.

"I just cannot see anything but strength in sharing a fuller partnership with you," Obi-Wan told the elder Jedi. "Even with the cautionary example I saw, years ago, I am not afraid to find this path if you are willing." He knew mentioning the events that had almost led to Qui-Gon's Fall was a risk, but he wanted his former Master to know he was not treading lightly in his choice to ignore the Code.

Qui-Gon shifted into that touch, looking down at his -- at Obi-Wan, Knight and partner and best friend, how did he reduce that to any single word? -- partner for a moment before he slid his hand down to wrap his fingers into Obi-Wan's. 

//Tahl, love, what would you say?// he wondered for a moment, and heard her laughing at him, saw, for half a moment, her smile, and had to admit that he knew the answer perfectly well. She would say that his heart knew where it wished to be and where he was needed. It did, and he did. "I love you, Obi-Wan Kenobi," he told him softly, "and of that, I cannot be afraid." 

To hear it spoken aloud, the words that had been shown time and again, long before Obi-Wan had any concept of that emotion as a thing, not an action, made the young Knight all but glow with peace, acceptance, and gratitude as well as a fierce love all his own for his former Master, his forever partner.

"I love you, Qui-Gon Jinn, and I have no fear of it either." He pushed up onto his knees in front of the elder Jedi. "I find I must ask of you one more thing. For you to teach me, what it is to share that which I feel with you," he said, soft and low, a faint blush on his cheeks. "Our lives have left me little time to truly learn those lessons."

Possession was one of those emotions justly forbidden to the Jedi, but Qui-Gon felt a sudden, swift surge of it deep in his chest, his heart, at that admission -- not that he had not already been aware of the fact. He knew quite well how rarely the two of them had been separated for any length of time since his Padawan had become part of his life, after all. It would not have been impossible for Obi-Wan to have had any number of short affairs... but those were not his beloved's way. He glowered at himself for it, firmly dismissing that flare of delight and possession, and returned his attention to the young Knight in front of him.

"Gladly," he answered, hand not tangled in Obi-Wan's sliding up to his cheek, lifting his jaw a little as he freed his other hand and ran it up Obi-Wan's arm to his shoulder and tugged him closer, leaning down as he dipped his head in to start their first kiss. 

Obi-Wan met him in that move, lips touching Qui-Gon's and sending a thrill through his whole body. Even in this, despite the newness of it, they knew how to move in each other's space, so there was little awkwardness, and just longing, repressed until now, exploding through the way Obi-Wan opened to the kiss.

His hands moved to settle on either side of Qui-Gon's waist, holding himself there, steadying himself against the feelings flowing through them both. He wanted it to never end, he wanted more, more that he didn't even have words for, and he was unashamed of the hungry little sound in his throat as he let Qui-Gon lead, control this first physical expression of their new path together.

Obi-Wan's hands on his sides -- familiar from hundreds of training sessions and post-battle tending of each other -- felt entirely new, entirely different, and Qui-Gon hummed low approval even as that noise from his partner threw fuel onto the coals of desire he had banked away from even his own mind long enough ago that he had not known _how_ fast they would flare back to life. His hand slid behind Obi-Wan's neck, thumb along and under his jaw, as he started at convincing his partner's lips to open to his tongue. 

It might have been a few seconds, might have been minutes, before he realized that they should _very definitely_ leave this room for one of theirs. Which? ...Ani was more likely to come to his, so... 

In accord with that thought, Obi-Wan made another small noise, one that was begging, perhaps, for more. He drew back some, licking at his own lips for that taste of Qui-Gon, and looked toward his own room. 

"Privacy, yes?" he asked, just to be certain he'd grasped the half-felt thought in his partner.

"Yes," Qui-Gon agreed entirely, and shifted up onto his feet, bringing Obi-Wan up along with him before he caught hold of his partner's mouth again. 

+++++

Anakin, and Qui-Gon, were both up well before Obi-Wan emerged from his room. He vaguely remembered his partner murmuring regrets and leaving the bed, but there must have been a Force suggestion in that murmur to sleep himself out. 

Obi-Wan had awakened, let the impact of what they had chosen together truly settle into his veins. Then he had gotten up and cleaned up, replacing the sheets of his bed in the process. Now, fresh and invigorated, more at peace than he had been since his sixteenth name day, he stepped out to find Anakin facing a blaster drone against his small green lightsaber under Qui-Gon's watchful eye.

"Oh that is a good lightsaber, Anakin," Obi-Wan praised, hearing the harmonic was quite pure, and seeing no fluctuations in the energy blade.

"I finished it this morning!" the boy said, parrying the weak energy blast of the drone even as he spoke. "I was working on it last night -- thank you for putting me to bed; Master Qui-Gon said it was you -- and just kept dreaming I was working! When I got up, it didn't take me any time at all to assemble it!"

"Sometimes, Padawan, that is all it takes, to let the Force guide our dreams to the right path," Obi-Wan assured the boy, but his eyes found his former Master's, to be certain they were still in accord over their own path.

Qui-Gon looked at his beloved, his Knight, and smiled at him, pleased both at the praise for Anakin and the glance to him. "So it is," he agreed, looking Obi-Wan over and seeing the question, but calm under it. "Good morning, Obi-Wan." 

"Good morning, Qui-Gon," his Knight said back to him, a small smile at the corner of his lips. "I suppose now, Anakin, that we get to find out what kind of trouble your Master is going to lead us into, as you have your lightsaber completed."

Anakin grinned a little at that, risking a glance at Qui-Gon… and rapidly parrying the next three shots the drone attempted. "Yes!" he said, thrilled by his success. Obi-Wan did not feel anything approaching wrongful pride in it, just a child's delight at succeeding.

"Good, Ani," Qui-Gon told him softly, before turning his attention back to Obi-Wan with a faint quirk of his mouth. "You say that as though you have never been the one getting us into trouble, old friend." 

Obi-Wan laid his fingers on his own chest with an upraised eyebrow. "My friend, I have only ever gone where you led. Perhaps, once or twice, I followed your example too thoroughly, maybe that is why you say this." He kept his voice light and teasing, enjoying the giggles from the boy as he continued to deal with the drone. It was adapting to the boy's skill, but Obi-Wan could see it was fast going to reach its highest setting. The boy thrived inside the Force! No wonder Qui-Gon had been so insistent. 

Qui-Gon snorted and shook his head, amused and entertained. "Oh, 'perhaps once or twice'?" he echoed, his eyes amused as did. "Funny, I seem to recall that that time on Drorth Six..." 

Obi-Wan's laughter escaped his control just at the name of the planet. "Qui-Gon, you cannot possibly hold that one against me. It's not my fault that the heir of the Consortium had a doppelganger among the smugglers."

"What happened?" Anakin asked, trying to test his ability to listen, speak, and still combat the drone.

"I listened to the wrong one of the pair," Obi-Wan admitted. "And almost sparked a trade war. At least it gave me experience that helped keep me from being confused on Naboo," he pointed out.

"I hardly said I held it against you, merely that you have gotten us into trouble, a few times," Qui-Gon replied, now that he could get a word in between the two of them. "And so it did, indeed. Though we were still all fooled by the Queen's Handmaidens and their careful charade." 

"It is an excellent strategy," Obi-Wan said of the Naboo security measures. Both men felt the flicker from the boy, and the Knight waited to see if the child opened up about his feelings. The flicker went from melancholy to determination in an instant, as Anakin focused solely on training against the drone.

Ani missed Padmé, his angel. But he had to make her proud, even if she never saw him again, because she had saved his mother too. Anakin had dreamed of his mother on Naboo, in Theed, with a new life. That kept his soul more at peace.

There were new adventures waiting, for all of them.

**Author's Note:**

> Kané is the Naboo lady pilot with a speaking role in the battle above Naboo, while Lio is meant to be the pilot of color in the same battle. We could not find names for either of them and found that to be terrible. So they got speaking roles here.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Finding Togetherness](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6466999) by [ilyena_sylph](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilyena_sylph/pseuds/ilyena_sylph), [Merfilly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly)




End file.
